


It's Okay If It's Sweet

by unrequainted



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Food, M/M, Pre-Slash, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-06
Updated: 2013-11-06
Packaged: 2017-12-31 16:57:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1034083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unrequainted/pseuds/unrequainted
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek eats watermelon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Okay If It's Sweet

It’s been nine weeks since Derek has properly slept besides two hour interval naps. Nine weeks since Stiles had yanked off the chain around his neck and the witch’s spell had disappeared.

Derek stalks out of the house and sits on the steps. The pack’s currently ‘practicing’ their skills which actually entails to running around and play fighting. They haven’t rebuilt anything but Lydia demanded the plumbing and essentials be fixed so there’s that. Which makes no sense because she’s off with Jackson today, and she never moves from the new couch during meetings. Derek’s fine sleeping on the lumpy mattress on the second floor, really.

Not that he’s been getting any real sleep. Derek had been tempted to ask one of the betas to knock him out with a punch or something. Though that wouldn’t help with all the nightmares that keep ripping him out of sleep. Also, Derek tries to keep up his alpha front. He can’t look weak, nice, or out of control. Yet, it’s funny because that’s all he really is; too weak, too nice, and definitely lacking control. He sighs and leans against one of the porch columns that attempt to keep the roof up. It’s gritty and old and nearly crumbling from it’s charred surface.

Stiles slides right up against him, shoulders barely touching.

“Watermelon?” Stiles offers him a wedge. It’s nearly summer and the weather is bordering hot. Derek takes it without comment.

Watermelon has always been his favorite fruit. The fruit is sweet, cool, and mostly sugary water—which makes it all the better. Derek wonders who picked it out because the rind is deep green and he hums in approval.

He’s almost done with the slice when Stiles says, “Dude, where are all your seeds. Leave it to Scott to _not_ buy seedless.”

“I swallow them.” Derek says and finishes the piece. Stiles visibly recoils and almost flings his slice in the air.

“Y-you can’t just eat them.”

“Well they aren’t going to spout in my stomach.” He raises his eyebrows. The rest is on a plate, sitting to Stiles’s left. But Derek doesn’t want to ask, so he wipes the sticky juice on his pants and doesn’t stare.

“I watched that rugrats episode, Derek. I remember,” Stiles retorts with a mouth full of watermelon. There’s juice dripping on his chin and Derek rolls his eyes, “Do you want another?”

Derek pretends to grudgingly take the slice but kind of relishes the taste when he bites into it. It’s a _good_ watermelon, okay.

“You cut the watermelon too thick.”

Stiles gapes back, “Are you kidding? Thick slices are the best. That way, you get a big chunk when you take a bite.”

“No. It’s got to be at most 3/4s of an inch thick. Or else it’s too big.”

“Says the guy who eats the seeds. Also, why is there still red left on your rinds?” Stiles starts on what must be his fourth piece in two minutes. His hair’s slightly matte with sweat and sticking out in random places. Derek rolls his eyes.

“I’m eating until it turns pink. Stiles, how are you eating until it’s completely white. That tastes like absolutely nothing. You might as well eat the rind too.”

“Derek you’re wasting food. You have to eat until there’s no color left.”

“And that is gross.”

“Says the werewolf who eats watermelon seeds.” Stiles’s seeds are starting to form a small pile on a step, each carefully aimed and spit out. Derek wants to tell Stiles he’s littering, but it’s not like the house isn’t already layered with dirt and dust. He let’s it go.

“Will you stop bringing up the seeds. It’s convenient.”

They keep bickering back and forth about proper watermelon eating. Apparently Stiles is a watermelon _connoisseur_. He’s not keeping track, but they end up eating half the watermelon.  

Now he’s full, of mostly water, but it’s a nice feeling. The warm air smells sweetly of fruit and the grassy forest. And Derek feels almost sleepy, so he leans against the wooden column and tries to drown out the rest of Stiles’s watermelon rant.

Derek wakes up to the feeling of cotton against his cheek and the familiar smell of lemon and sage. He’s still in a hazy sleep state but fully wakes when a heartbeat—Stiles’s heartbeat—is the loudest thing he can hear.

“Morning, oh great leader alpha, Derek Hale.” Stiles says as he turns a page from the book perched in his hands, _Finding Mythical Creatures Vol. 3_.

Derek realizes he’s looking at the book sideways and leaning his head on Stiles’s shoulder. He quickly moves away and scrubs his face.

“Where’s the pack,” He doesn’t hear the usual growls or playful tauntings close by and, “Why didn’t you wake me.”

“They went to the creek to practice the art of werewolf swimming. Also, that wooden pillar looked way more comfortable than my shoulder.”

Derek wants to say sorry for using Stiles’s shoulder as a pillow for what must have been more than an hour, but the apology feels awkward in his head, so he doesn’t say it aloud. “You still should have woken me.”

Stiles turns from his book and raises an eyebrow, “Uh, not gonna lie Derek, as much as your werewolf super healing powers add to your appearance, those eye bags were looking pretty bad.”

“As bad as yours?”

Stiles grunts and elbows him, “They finished the rest of the watermelon. Oh, and pretty much everyone took pictures of you earlier. Erica’s got all the blackmail she needs for a while.”

Derek groans. Of course the pack would whip out their phones. They’ll be slacking during training for a while. Because all they need is lax training.

Stiles cuts in during his halfhearted sulking, “How are you?”

“Fine…” Derek replies. Stiles is acting nonchalant but Derek can tell there’s a slight skip in his heartbeat as he turns the page, like he’s nervous.

“ _Okay_ ,” Stiles answers, fingering the page’s corner, “But, like are you fine or FINE or _fine_.”

“I don’t” Derek furrows his eyebrows. Stiles usually has his good days when he’s somewhat understandable. This isn’t one of those days.

“Uhg. Derek. The spell. The witch casted one nasty ass spell. Y’know with memory-messing-self-loathing shit and the freaky chain around your neck enslaving part. I know it’s been over a week. But, you haven’t looked so good. Connecting dots, not that hard.”

Now Derek’s confused some more. It’s not like they have feeling sharing sessions or what did you do today circles during meetings. And Stiles never seemed to mention Derek’s mental health before. Not that they’ve talked much, alone, for that matter. Derek just raises his eyebrows, trying to show judgement instead of confusion. He thinks it works, or not.

“It’s like you don’t even trust me—or us for that matter. And we’re all pack. We can _tell_ when you’re in a shitty kink, Derek. You just sit and brood alone in your grumpy werewolf den of sadness. And you’re ‘I’m going to drown in my own self loathing forever’ personality... I-I bet you don’t even... like... watermelon.” Stiles snaps his mouth shut and opens his book again, thumbing the page and grumbling.

The air’s still warm with a lingering scent of watermelon. And Derek suddenly feels like laughing or smiling or something completely out of character (even if he’s probably supposed to be feeling guilty from the lecture). Because Stiles is mad _for_ him.

“I do like watermelon...” Derek says, “and trust you.”

He can see a small smirk curving on Stiles’s lips. Derek can tell he isn’t reading because his eyes aren’t moving across the page. He’s been staring at it for the past five minutes.

Stiles finally speaks, “Do you want to cut the other watermelon?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you [chibisama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibisama) for the beta.


End file.
